The leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States is the chronic use of tobacco products, in particular, cigarettes. In addition to lung cancers, tobacco use plays important direct and indirect roles in the etiology of a wide range of other cancers, including those of the upper aerodigestive tract (i.e., oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus), bladder, stomach, kidney, pancreas, uterine cervix, and blood (myeloid leukemia). Exposure to tobacco carcinogens and toxins is also a major cause of other diseases of the pulmonary system (e.g., bronchitis, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), the cardiovascular system (e.g., stroke, atherosclerosis, and myocardial infarction), and the female reproductive system (e.g., increased risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, low birth weight, and stillbirth). While numerous studies have elucidated some of the biological effects of cigarette smoke that result in its ability to induce this range of pathologies in smokers, little is known about the nature and temporal association of molecular events that drive specific stages in the multi-step processes that result in clinically evident disease. This is due to the fact that cigarette smoke is a complex chemical mixture of gases and suspended particulate material that consists of a wide variety of condensed organic compounds (i.e., ‘tar’) that collectively contain a large number of toxins, carcinogens, co-carcinogens, mutagens, and reactive organic and inorganic molecules. To date, only a limited number of these individual tobacco constituents such as benzo[a]pyrene have been assessed for genetic impact in model systems.
Conventional approaches to evaluate the effects of cigarette smoke do not have sufficient sensitivity, specificity, and robustness to be useful in deciphering specific qualitative and quantitative relationships between tobacco smoke constituents and cellular processes. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop novel approaches to accurately evaluate both the genotoxic and biologic effects of tobacco smoke in a rapid and sensitive manner. In particular, since genetic instability is a critical step towards the eventual evolution of a malignant tumor, assessing the various types of chromosomal damage caused by tobacco smoke is a priority. The present methods meet this need and provide additional advantages as well.